Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière, also Count de Lariboisière, was a general of artillery of the First French Empire. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and died of fatigue at Königsberg in East Prussia on 21 December 1812, during the Grand Army's retreat from Moscow. A superb organizer and tactician, Baston de Lariboisière rose rapidly through the artillery ranks and reliably directed the artillery park for the initial engagements of the War of the First Coalition in 1793–1794. He also directed the investment and, if necessary, the sieges of Mainz, Ulm, and Danzig, among others. In addition, he was a reliable commander of infantry, supporting Laurent Saint-Cyr's corps in northern Italy in the 1799 campaign. Lariboisière's direction of artillery fire at the Battle of Austerlitz resulted in the destruction of the ice covering the lake over which Russian army forces retreated. His placement of artillery at the Battle of Borodino gave the French a tactical advantage in fire on the Russian lines. Lariboisière's artillery also provided the rear guard coverage of the French withdrawal from Beresina. One of his sons survived the wars and the family founded the Lariboisière Hospital in Paris. Family and education He was born on 18 August 1759, in Fougères. His father, Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière, was lieutenant general of civil and criminal justice and the seneschal of Fougères. His mother was Jeanne Monnières. Baston de Lariboisière was designated early for a military career. He was a brilliant student at the military academy and in 1781 received a commission as a lieutenant and entered the same regiment as Napoleon Bonaparte. Although Lariboisière was ten years older than Bonaparte, they developed a rapport that continued until Lariboisière's death in 1812. Military career Baston de Lariboisière was cited as a distinguished officer the outset of the French Revolution, for which he showed only moderate support. He was promoted to captain in 1791 and assigned to Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine's command. He took part in the invasion of Paville against the Prussians. After the surrender of the French army, he was held as a prisoner of war. In the following years, he participated in the campaigns of 1796, as adjutant colonel, colonel, and brigadier general, and directed the artillery parks of the Army of England, the Army of Helvetia, the Army of the Rhine. When Jean Baptiste Jourdan organized the Army of the